Utility Pricing and the Poor : Lessons from Armenia

Lampietti, Julian A. ; Kolb, Anthony A. ; Gulyani, Sumila ; Avenesyan, Vahram

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: AIR POLLUTION;    BILL COLLECTION;    BILLING;    BIOMASS;    CASH TRANSFERS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/0-8213-4922-8
RP-ID  :  WTP497

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Increasing cost recovery for utilitiesis a cornerstone of the Government of Armenia'seconomic reform program. This report assesses the 1999electricity tariff increase and the potential for futureimproved water sector cost recovery, with particularattention to questions of service accessibility andaffordability for the poor . The burden of energyexpenditures is large for most households, particularly forthe poor. Electricity makes up the bulk of theseexpenditures, and a further increase in tariffs, withoutincreasing access to low cost substitutes, would lead to thegreatest hardship for the urban poor. Future electricitytariff increases should be closely coordinated with improvedprice response prediction and credible action to mitigatethe potential impact on the poor and the environment. Thewater utilities are caught in a low-level equilibrium trap,characterized by decreasing service quality and revenue. Thewater utilities must break out of this trap by generatingmore revenues through improved service delivery. A two-stageapproach is recommended. In the first stage, revenues shouldbe increased by enforcing payment from the households thatcurrently have reliable service but are not paying theirbills, in the second stage, after collection capacity isstrengthened, the utility should start a program of tariffadjustments, based on improved service and meter-based billing.